Look out, South 1st shawarma scene -- Eat a Pita, the latest comer to the '04s halal brawl, has a new head of operations, and he's mean and lean. Having just replaced the quote unquote old man previously at the helm this past Tuesday, Nick's in it to win it. Judging by the chicken shawarma he's serving up, the man clearly means business, and he's certainly earned mine. A few nights ago, I called in to take out; my wife was hungry, my cooking obligations long overdue, and chicken shawarma was the order of the day. Specifically, a plate of chicken shawarma over rice, con todo, *extra* onion. Finally feeling free to quit fuddling with the food processor and have the chance to spend adequate time tending to my Firemans, my night held bright portents. My thirst satiated, and good vittels inevitable, things seemed more or less in the bag. But wait! A hitch in the plan!? Upon my call-in order, I was informed that onions had been 86'd for the night. Our emaciated pantry, having withered while weathering our 2-week 2-year-anniversary-vaca-absence, had no alliums on offer. And our local HEB wasn't just due to close up shop for the night; slated to shutter permanently in a scant few weeks, the threadbare shelves I'd witnessed the night prior granted no assurances worthy of justifying the extra ~60 second drive. In a few words, onions were out. And you know what? We were honestly fine. My wife and I are both adults, and able to handle small disappointments. But upon my arrival to the cart, the gravity of Nick's effusive apologies would have suggested I held a far more grotesque grievance; like he'd inadvertently dropped my baby, not just made an innocent inventory error. Utterly repentant over the mildly surprising absence of the staple veg, Nick promised he'd make it right. Or something along those lines. I don't really remember, because it wasn't a big deal, and I made as much clear. But his express contrition stood in stark contrast with the comportment of other Austin area service industry professionals. Indeed, while it's probably true that your quintessential waiter in this town isn't significantly more likely than Nick to commit infanticide, they have a tendency, over the course of attending to you, to at least make you *feel* like they want to murder your firstborn. The fact that my experience seemed to matter to him was refreshing, to say the least. After the air'd been cleared, we got to talking, and Nick let me know he'd be running the show from here on out. And as his previously expressed investment in my customer experience would suggest, Nick impressed upon me that the quality of his product was of similar import to him. As such, he invited my opinion, in the form of an online review (and actually said he'd prefer Google, but I'm a Yelp kinda guy). Nick wanted me to be frank; he didn't want me to pull any punches. But I let him know that even if it was the worst food I'd ever eaten, that he'd receive an honest & objective review, and walk away with no less than four stars. And that's because not only am I tactful enough not to nickel and dime a proprietor's stars away on account of my perhaps divergent take-out related neuroses, I'm also gracious and merciful enough not to take out whatever myriad stress is affecting me today out on a recently established business. Maybe I am making a big deal over nothing after all. But I know Yelp users: I know how they can get testy over minutiae, and be stingy with the stars as a result. All I'm saying is, maybe don't tickle the tiger. I just fear some may construe such an inquest as to their candor as a challenge. In any event, you're probably noticing the review is for 5 stars. Nick's got chops; onions or not, the plate was scrumptious. I'd more or less written this truck off after my initial try or two, but on Nick's account, Eat a Pita will likely find itself a fixture in our shawarma rotation. Finally, I must mention the icing on the cake; Nick's complimentary gulab jamun (the national dessert of Pakistan). It was lovely, aromatic, and sweet, truly capping our meal off on a triumphant note. And while I can't guarantee yours will be on the house, onions or not, you might want to give it a try. I recommend it!
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"Lord love a duck. Delicious even after all these years. One of our favorite places to eat during lunch"
"Let me tell you this guy works his butt off to feed all the drunk and hungry people at 3am on the weekend. I saw him sweating it out for a very long time to make delicious food for his awaiting customers. No AC just a mini fan and so many people came in through his door and bothered him. He deserves a medal for braving it out, making good food for the crazies. We had chicken wraps and they were spectacular! Highly recommend if you are out in this area!"
